A Different Path Taken
by trisanamcgraw
Summary: Speculation with my friend CeliaZ led me to write an alternate Season III fic based upon this question: What if Enzo HAD gone to the Supercomputer? Chapters 15. [Discontinued]
1. Introduction

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A Different Path Taken

By Trisana McGraw

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ReBoot Timeframe

Nanosecond — second

Millisecond — minute

Microsecond — hour

Second — day

Cycle — week

Minute — month

Hour — year

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INTRODUCTION

You've read them; you hate them, or you love them. But now you get to read a mix of them.

That's right: this fic is an Alternate Reality Season III Rewrite of Daemon's Infection (sorta). Scared yet? Don't worry — it's not too bad.

This fanfic tells of an alternate Season III. It begins the same, but at the point of about "Game Over," the characters must make a decision — one that will change the entire flow of events.

But this Season III _does_ end the way we all know it too; the events only flow differently. The same is said for all the characters, who emerge at different times.

So, sit back and read as you see A Different Path Taken by the Mainframers.


	2. Web World Wars

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CHAPTER ONE

WEB WORLD WARS

MAINFRAME

Mainframe had never seen frenzy like this. Transports sped through the air, trying to stop drones from returning to the Web through the portal that had been opened. Already Megabyte's ABCs had been required to aid Mainframe's CPUs, and even then the job was hard.

Guardian Bob flew through the onrushing stream of citizens. He had just passed on Guardian cadet protocol to Enzo Matrix, warning him, "If anything happens to me, you'll need to protect Mainframe." His words had been said only to humor the boy; he had no idea how much pressure they would place on Enzo.

As Bob stepped onto the platform where the viruses' software was located, Megabyte turned. The virus was growing tired of the charade. He would never in his right code team up with the sprites, and now that his plan could begin, this would soon be over.

"All right, people — let's close that portal!" Bob shouted.

Megabyte spoke up. "Not quite yet, Guardian."

He took that opportunity to leap forward to where Dot Matrix stood. In one quick motion, he slashed the cannon from her grip, causing her to stagger. Just as quickly, Megabyte turned back around.

Bob's eyes widened in surprise as the virus came towards him. "Glitch —" he started to call, when Megabyte clapped a hand over his mouth. He grabbed Glitch off the Guardian's arm; he crushed the keytool with his hand and let it drop to the ground. With one hand, he flung Bob into a pod that had just popped up; then he pressed the button.

Megabyte's eyes narrowed to eerie green slits; Bob's own eyes widened seeing the pure malice there. Megabyte slammed his fist on the button again, satisfied.

Bob's scream of "NOOOO!" mingled with Dot's of "BOB!" as the pod ejected into the Web.

Dot stood, frozen, until Mouse came and said quietly, "Let's go, Sugah. Ah don't think we're welcome here." The two of them jumped off the platform and into the waiting _Ship_.

Dot looked up to see Hexadecimal aim the powerful hardware at the Web portal. "Mouse, we have to stop them!" she cried.

"Ah've got it covered," the hacker replied. She piloted _Ship_ to the platform at full speed.

Hex had only a nano for her mask to register surprise before she was sent flying.

With a fierce whoop, Mouse knocked again into the platform. The hardware shook; after the next hit, it broke into two pieces.

The two women grinned triumphantly at one another. Then Mouse turned _Ship_ towards the Principle Office.

Megabyte clenched his fist. Never mind the mishap, he thought, his plan was only beginning.

"NO!" Enzo screamed after hearing of the fate that had befallen Bob. The boy shut his eyes in anguish.

Suddenly, several VidWindows opened up in front of them.

"Citizens of Mainframe, you have lost," Megabyte announced. "Give up and take your place at my feet."

"I love it when he talks like that," Hex said, her mask showing a jeering face.

"We will fight you to the last, virus," Phong declared.

"You fools!" Megabyte shouted. "Your Guardian is lost, and the city lies unprotected."

"You're wrong!" AndrAIa argued to Megabyte. "We _do_ have a Guardian!" She turned to Enzo and said, "Guardian — your keytool."

Enzo seemed to be encouraged by her support. Placing the broken Glitch on his arm, he assumed a fighting stance. Looking the viruses in the eyes, he proclaimed, "I am Guardian Matrix, charged with defending this system. Two viruses take over _my_ home? I don't think so!"

He, AndrAIa, and Dot faced Megabyte and Hexadecimal with great bravery — bravery that they would need for the next several minutes of battle to come.


	3. Going the Other Way

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CHAPTER TWO

GOING THE OTHER WAY

MAINFRAME

"Everybody," Dot called several cycles later to the anxious assembled CPUs, "we may have a definite plan."

The resistance group let out a loud cheer.

"But we have to wait until Enzo and AndrAIa get back," Dot added.

At this everyone grew quiet and stared apprehensively out the VidWindows at the dark purple Game cube that had been planted in a nearby sector.

Dot couldn't help but feel their restlessness. Even though Enzo and AndrAIa had been going into the Games for several cycles, Dot still worried about their safety, and she hated the wait for a Game to end.

Finally, those words came.

GAME OVER.

Dot breathed a sigh of relief. The Game had been won. She watched as Enzo and AndrAIa were picked up by the CPUs and brought back to the Principle Office in the next few milliseconds.

"That Game was alphanumeric!" Enzo shouted upon entering the War Room. "That girl User didn't stand a chance! I can't wait until the next one drops!"

"Slow your processor, Bro," Dot chided, laughing. She waited until the excitement had died down somewhat before she announced, "Enzo, AndrAIa, while you were in the Game, Mouse came up with a way to evade Megabyte."

Both children's mouths opened wide; Enzo asked, "Really?"; and they both looked at the hacker, who stood off to the side. The news seemed too good to be true.

Dot nodded at Mouse. She stepped forward and began explaining.

"It's pretty simple, actually. Ya see, Megabyte an' Hexadecimal maht've caught us by surprise by shootin' Bob inta the Web; but they made a mistake by not _closin_' the portal." She waited for her words to sink in before continuing, using her hands articulately. "Ah think we can find enough power; and if we can, we'll use it to change the portal from the _Web_ to the _Net_."

"Wait," Enzo spoke up, "you mean we'd have a portal to the _Supercomputer_?"

Dot nodded. She leaned down so that she was almost eye-level with her brother and said, "Enzo, if this works, you will be downloaded to the Guardian Academy, where you'll train to be a Guardian."

Enzo opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. He tried again, and asked, "_Really_? Alphanumeric!" He suddenly frowned, and asked, "What about AndrAIa and Frisket?"

"They'll be able to come, too," Dot assured him. Looking at Enzo and his two companions, she asked, "What do you say?"

"Let's do it!" her brother shouted.

"Pixelacious!" his friend added, and they slapped palms in a high-five.

For a nanosecond, Dot loved and hated their enthusiasm at the same time. But she steeled herself and said, "We'll start next second."

Again everyone cheered, and Dot thought, _Maybe there is hope after all_.

"Herr Doktor, what is our progress?" Megabyte asked his head scientist.

"Very vell, mein grosse bitter! Hexadecimal is kept under control" — Megabyte's sister had been damaged by a fallen Game cube and, after being rebuilt by the virals, now was forced to use her powers for them — "and ze hardware is almost fully functional."

"Good." Megabyte nodded. "Proceed."

Dot looked anxiously out of _Ship_'s window at the dark, writhing Web portal. "How are we doing?" she asked Mouse, who sat beside her piloting _Ship_.

"Relax, Honey," the hacker said. "We're not bein' followed. Megabyte an' his cronies don't even know what we're doing. Besides, they're behind the firewall."

Dot nodded. She willed herself to relax, but it seemed she couldn't. Instead, she looked over her shoulder at Enzo, AndrAIa, and Frisket, sitting in the back. The tense excitement radiated among them as they all gazed at the portal in awe.

Mouse landed _Ship_ on the platform that the virals had abandoned seconds ago. Dot, Enzo, AndrAIa, and Frisket all jumped out, and Mouse began to lift _Ship_ into the air,

The sprites and dog moved aside as Mouse aimed _Ship_'s cannons at the portal and fired. Phong had supplied the codes, and _Ship_ had been charged with energy — energy that was now bursting inside the portal.

Everyone covered their eyes in the brightness that followed; when it cleared, they all gasped. The dark Web portal had become a shimmering gold orb that held the image of a bright city beyond it.

In a flash of memory, Enzo recalled his short trip to the Supercomputer once; and that memory only caused his longing to grow.

Dot turned to her brother. "Well, I guess this is it," she said, fighting to keep the emotion out of her voice.

"I guess it is," Enzo replied, and for the first time that second he sounded different from excited; he sounded scared.

"Hey . . . c'mere," Dot said, and she pulled him into a hug.

"Guys, you'd betta hurry up," Mouse called from her seat in _Ship_. She sounded worried. "Megabyte n the virals have gotten through the firewall!"

"What?" Dot asked. They all looked in the direction of G Prime, and saw that Mouse was right: somehow the virals had formed a rift cutting through the firewall, through which the ABCs were beginning to emerge.

The virals were preparing the hardware when the commander alerted Megabyte.

"Sir," the commander said, "there's activity going on outside the firewall, on Level 1." The VidWindow closed.

"Really?" Megabyte mused, staring past the firewall at the sprites beginning to convert the Web portal. After a millisecond, he turned on a VidWindow and ordered, "Bring us through the firewall, now!"

Megabyte turned to his chained sister. "Hexadecimal, if you will . . .?"

"Do what?" Hex retorted.

"Use your energies to take us through the firewall," Megabyte said, "or else." On those last two words, he pushed a button on his wrist control. Hex shrieked as the collar around her neck glowed green and sent shocks of pain through her.

It faded, and Hex glared at her brother. "Fine," she pouted. She let the energy grow between her hands, then held them out. The energy flowed to the firewall, and a nano later, a bright portal began to form. Megabyte waited until it was large enough then nodded, and they flew through it.

With the approach of the virals, the sprites began to hurry, Enzo, AndrAIa, and Frisket started forward when Dot grabbed his arm.

"Wait," she said, and gazed at Enzo with the look of a concerned mother. "Enzo, you're all I have. . . ."

"Don't worry, Dot," Enzo assured her, smiling. "We'll be fine in the Supercomputer. I'll have AndrAIa and Frisket." They started to move toward the portal, when another distraction made them pause.

WARNING: INCOMING GAME. WARNING: INCOMING GAME.

The User had just inserted a Game cube into the sector near G Prime. Both child sprites began to move toward it instead.

"What are you doing?" Dot asked.

Enzo looked up, torn with indecision. "But Dot, I have to go into the Game. . . ."

"That's one Game; this is the Guardian Academy," Dot urged him. When Enzo still looked torn — and with Megabyte coming closer — she added, "We'll get someone in there. Now, go."

Enzo, AndrAIa, and Frisket walked forward into the golden light. Before it completely enveloped them, they turned back to wave at Dot.

She waved back, and whispered through a suddenly tight throat, "Good-bye, Enzo."

The three figures turned and kept walking until they were completely swallowed by the light.

"Dot!" Mouse shouted. "Hurry! They're coming!"

Dot ran and jumped into _Ship_. But before they flew off, they waited to see what the virals would do.

"You fools!" Megabyte shouted, his hunger for the Net portal surpassing his usual calm. "Get there before it closes!"

But as the three figures disappeared into the portal, Mouse cut _Ship_'s energy, and the portal became the pathway to the Web once again.

"NO!" Megabyte roared, and slammed his fist down in anger. Then, a sudden malicious sneer appeared on his face. "Herr Doktor?"

"Yes, sir?" the scientist asked from his workstation.

"Close the portal," Megabyte ordered. "It's time to show Ms. Matrix what total loss feels like."

Herr Doktor nodded. In a loud voice he called, "Preparing ze hardware!"

A viral binome, sitting at the large cannon, nodded to signal that he was ready.

"Fire!" Megabyte ordered.

A bright laser shot out from the hardware and plunged straight into the portal. It flared bright for a moment, then condensed in on itself until it disappeared.

Megabyte laughed softly to himself. "There you go, sprites. There you go."

It all happened in a matter of nanoseconds. First, Enzo, AndrAIa, and Frisket stepped through the portal; then, it was closed.

The nano after that, the virals began to open fire. Mouse piloted _Ship_ up and away from the platform to avoid being deleted.

"Mouse, we can't just leave!" Dot urged her friend. "The portal's closed —"

Mouse turned to look at her, and her face and her voice were stern. "Look, Dot — Enzo and AndrAIa will be fine in the Supercomputer; they've got Frisket, too, just like Enzo said. But you're needed _here_, to fight Megabyte. All right?"

Dot nodded, and Mouse turned _Ship_ back towards the Principle Office.

Dot looked back at the spot where the portal had been. _Good-bye, Enzo_, she thought again. _User, I'm going to miss him — all of them_.


	4. The Supercomputer

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CHAPTER THREE

THE SUPERCOMPUTER

SUPERCOMPUTER

Doubts and fears shadowed Enzo and AndrAIa's thoughts; but as they stepped through the portal, those feelings were pushed to the back of their minds.

When met with the sight of the giant city, they stopped in their tracks and looked up, up, up, the most amazed they had ever been.

"Dude," Enzo breathed, uncharacteristically speechless.

The Supercomputer was a city full of different buildings. Golden spires rose, gleaming, into the pale blue sky. Other buildings were squatter, and closer to the ground, but they gave off the same glitter. All of them shone in the mid-afternoon sun.

"Where's the Guardian Academy, Enzo?" asked AndrAIa.

"What?" her friend asked, startled. For a short moment, he had forgotten their goal. But he remembered it as vividly as ever, and he said, "Uh . . . let's look for it." They began walking, Frisket trotting ahead of the two sprites warily.

They walked for milliseconds, looking around them; but all the buildings looked the same. Again, some doubts grew among them. What if they couldn't even find the Academy?

But the doubt was short-lived, because as they rounded the next corner, a large building suddenly loomed ahead. It seemed more majestic and imperious than the other skyscrapers. It was a melancholy gray color, with large windows lining every level. Beyond the building was a number of training courses.

Beside him, AndrAIa gasped. Frisket gave a low growl. The entire building seemed to radiate power.

Enzo stood still until all of his excitement caught up with him. "Alphanumeric!" he shouted. "It's even better than I imagined." Then, he slowly stepped forward to the large silver doors and knocked a few times. The knocks sounded like thunder when they echoed back.

A few nanos later, one door opened, and a woman sprite stood there. Her hair, black with red highlights, was cropped short, and she wore a dark gray Guardian uniform. The sleeves cut off at her elbows, showing that there were chrome streaks across her baby-blue skin; and her wrists bore bronze armbands and a keytool. Her beautiful mahogany eyes studied the three interestedly.

Enzo stepped forward and cleared his throat. "I'm . . . I am Enzo Matrix, a . . . um, cadet, version 1.0."

The Guardian smiled. "Well, I'm Chroma, the second-in-command here at the Academy. I also handle the registration of the new sprites. Come inside," she said, beckoning with her hand to the two children and the dog. They followed her inside, and she closed the door.

Chroma led them down a long hallway and into an office. The Guardian woman sat down at her desk and signaled for Enzo and AndrAIa to be seated.

"Now, let's start from the beginning," Chroma said. She held a file-folder. "First: where are you from?"

"Mainframe," Enzo answered.

"Birth system?"

"Yes."

"And your friend?" Chroma asked, typing Enzo's answers.

"Uh — AndrAIa's not from around here. She's . . . from another system, but I don't know the name," Enzo lied.

"Well, you can take that up with the Prime, when you meet with him," Chroma said. "Now, your ages, both of you?"

"1.0 and . . . um, about 0.9."

"And, any existing family members?"

"Just my sister Dot, in Mainframe," Enzo answered.

"I don't have a family," AndrAIa said somewhat sadly.

"I'm sorry," Chroma said in sympathy. She pressed a button on the file-folder, then said, "I'm sending the information to Turbo, so he can look it over before you meet with him."

"Turbo?" Enzo repeated. "Wasn't he the one who — "

Chroma cut him off mid-sentence. "Before you go, there's only one thing I'm wondering. Enzo, you said you were from system Mainframe — is that the one where the Web creature is supposed to be?"

Enzo nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"Then Turbo will be very eager to talk to you."

A green light flashed on her organizer. "Oh," Chroma said, "it's time for you to meet with Turbo. His office is down to the end of the hall, and right."

"So soon?" AndrAIa asked as they rose from their chairs.

"Time goes by quickly in the Supercomputer," Chroma informed them as they walked out of her office.

As the Guardian woman watched them go, a strange glint appeared in her eyes, and she watched the sprites and dog with the same hunger as a predator stalking its prey.

__

New energy, she thought maliciously to herself. Chroma closed the door.

"Come in," Prime Guardian Turbo called in response to the knocks on his office door. He had just received and read the file about the new visitors, sent by Chroma, and he knew who was at the door.

Sure enough, the door opened, and in stepped Enzo Matrix — Turbo already knew about him — a girl sprite that must have been AndrAIa, and a large red and yellow dog.

"Guardian Turbo?" Enzo asked uncertainly. When the Prime nodded, the boy's expression turned distrustful. "You sent that bomb to Mainframe!" Beside him, his dog's ears flattened, and he growled.

"It was needed in that situation, with the Web creature," Turbo replied. "Speaking of, how _did_ you manage to escape the explosion? Mainframe should be in shambles now."

"Actually, Mainframe's still on-line," Enzo answered. Then, his voice growing angry, he continued, "But because of you, we got a portal to the Web, which Megabreath — Megabyte shot Bob into."

"He _what_?" Turbo asked, astonished. But he gestured for Enzo to go on.

The boy did. "Dot sent us" — he waved a hand at him, AndrAIa, and the dog — "here so I could train. Mouse converted the Web portal to go to the Net."

"Should've expected Mouse to do somethin' like that," Turbo laughed. But a small voice urged him. _She's not going to be happy when she hears this._

Turbo pushed away the voice — for the time being — and held out a hand to Enzo. "Well, we're glad to have you at the Academy."

The sprite stared at Turbo's outstretched hand disdainfully. "I still don't trust you," he declared.

Turbo sighed. "Look, Enzo," he said seriously, "we don't even usually accept sprites under 1.2 hours to the Academy. Now, you could easily be sent home, for a couple o' reasons — or, I could pull a few strings and get you guys in, as long as you don't mention Mainframe to anyone. It's for both our safety." His words seemed odd.

"So, whaddaya say to our little deal?"

"All right," Enzo agreed grudgingly, and shook Turbo's hand.

"Good. Now, one more thing before you get situated. Come with me." Turbo led them through a door to a room where a box-like machine was.

"What's that for?" Enzo asked.

"It's somethin' Ah do fer every single pupil here. This machine downloads an extra bit o' Guardian protocol into the codes. For this procedure, Ah'll need yer icon."

Reluctantly, Enzo handed his icon to Turbo. The Prime Guardian turned so that his back was facing them, and he punched in a short, five-digit code. The machine whirred, and five nanoseconds later, Enzo's icon popped out.

Turbo handed the icon back to Enzo. He studied it for any difference, but all he saw was a faint green glow that quickly melted away.

"Ah'll need yer icon, too," Turbo told AndrAIa.

The game sprite held a hand over her icon protectively. "But I'm not doing any Guardian training."

"You'll still need it," Turbo said. "_All_ the residents of the Academy do." He then took AndrAIa's icon and performed the same procedure; he even did it for the dog. "There. You're set. Enzo and AndrAIa, you're free to go look around with your dog."

At this, the dog growled again, warningly.

"What'd Ah say?" asked Turbo.

"You called him a dog,'" Enzo explained. "He doesn't like being called that. His name is Frisket."

"Oh. . . . All right — Enzo, AndrAIa, and _Frisket_, feel free to look around. Sooner or later, you'll need to find a home, too, either at the Academy or near it."

Before they started out the door, Glitch began making squeaking and whirring noises. Turbo's keytool, Copeland, beeped and flashed in reply.

"Glitch?" Turbo asked, looking between the keytools. To Enzo he said, "You've been very honored, Enzo. Keytools _select_ their Guardians. Few are chosen, and I know Glitch wouldn't choose poorly."

"Glitch is broken," Enzo confessed. "It was when I got it. Megabyte," he added.

"Yeah. . . . Enzo, later on you should go get Glitch fixed. There's a sprite here at the Academy who can do that for ya, actually. When ya get some more uniforms, ask `im."

Enzo and AndrAIa thanked him, and they and Frisket walked out of the office and down the hallway. They began looking in doors, but all they found were empty rooms. There were several hallways branching off from the main one, and the sprites were at a loss of where to go.

A loud bell rang, and from one of the hallways came a large crowd of pupils. Enzo and AndrAIa let themselves get lost in the crowd, and followed them to their destination.

"Are you new here?" a voice asked. It belonged to a young sprite that looked about 1.2, with deep turquoise skin and light brown hair, and wearing a dark blue cadet uniform.

Enzo nodded. "I'm Enzo, and this is AndrAIa and Frisket," he said, introducing them.

"I'm Taaj," the sprite replied. "I enrolled here a few cycles ago. If you want, I can show you around later."

"Sure." They had reached a room, and AndrAIa asked, "What's this?"

"This is the cafeteria, but we also have meetings here, when the Prime talks to us." Taaj's pale gray eyes shone with admiration when he mentioned Turbo; the same admiration Enzo held for Bob.

Enzo felt that he mirrored Taaj's enthusiasm; except for the admiration of Turbo. Still, he counted himself lucky to be at the Academy at all, problems or no problems.

Inside the cafeteria, they all found seats. The assembled sprites waited, until presently a VidWindow appeared with the face of Turbo.

"Welcome, sprites," he began. "As you know, next second marks the definite beginning of your Guardian training. Guardians are the sworn protectors of the Net, and not ev'rabody can fulfill the training. But you all can. You will dedicate your time, knowledge, and _especially_ your concentration, until you have deserved the title of Guardian." The fire in his voice was unmistakable. Then, Turbo spoke the exact same words that Bob had spoken when handing Enzo the Guardian protocol, seconds ago: "Do you accept?"

Enzo yelled, "Yes!" with all the others, moved by Turbo's speech. Next to him, AndrAIa and Taaj cheered as well.

He was going to become the best Guardian ever, Enzo thought. Then he could come back to Mainframe and show those viruses!

That second was somewhat a rest day, so the cadets were allowed to go almost anywhere on or near the Academy grounds.

True to his word, Taaj showed Enzo, AndrAIa, and Frisket around the Academy, taking them into every classroom and also showing them the upstairs living quarters.

"You know every place in this building," Enzo remarked. "How come?"

"Well, I've lived in the Supercomputer since I was initialized," Taaj answered. "Plus, my aunt's a teacher here."

"Pixelacious!" Enzo breathed. "This place makes Mainframe seem so small."

"I've always wanted to see a small system," Taaj said. "That's one reason I wanted to become a Guardian — so I could go anywhere in the Net."

"Maybe you could see Mainframe sometime," Enzo said. "We could probably make a portal to it, like the one we came in before — Wait! I forgot about the portal! Come on, you can see Mainframe now!" Enzo led the way out of the Academy and down the streets to where the portal was still glowing.

As they skidded to a stop at the spot, they saw the portal condense on itself, and disappear. A sprite stood before it, watching as the portal closed.

"Hey, wait!" Enzo shouted in dismay.

The sprite turned around. It was Chroma, and her face wore a look of cold contempt. But the expression was masked in a nanosecond.

"What happened to the portal?" Enzo asked.

"Something very unfortunate," Chroma replied. "Somehow it was closed from the inside — probably by one of those viruses in your system."

"But — can't you just access it again?"

Chroma turned toward the spot where the portal had been. Her keytool hummed for a couple of nanoseconds, but nothing happened. Finally she turned back to the expectant sprites.

"I can't access it," she said. "Somehow, Mainframe's location has been written off the Net."

"What?" they all asked at once; Frisket gave a questioning bark. "Megabyte," Enzo hissed angrily.

"I have to be returning to the Academy," Chroma said in a brisk, business-like manner. "And you all should think about it, too." Without another word, she pushed past them.

As she walked away, Chroma allowed herself a small smile. "Good work," she told her keytool, which was still warm after its two uses.

Chroma mused to herself, _I've never heard before of this virus Megabyte, but I can certainly relate to him. He isn't the only one who wants to keep the sprites here — oh, not at all._

Enzo stared at the spot where the portal had been, dismayed and worried. Mainframe, gone!

"If we can't get back, where will we stay?" he asked.

"Well," Taaj spoke up, "I live in an apartment complex. Maybe you could find a place there." They hopped onto their zipboards, and Taaj led them to a cluster of apartment buildings. Enzo felt a twinge of homesickness as he thought that the apartments resembled the 8 Ball Arms back home.

Taaj led them upstairs to one of the uppermost floors until they reached Taaj's home. He opened the door and led them inside, calling, "Jiselle, I'm home! I brought some friends, too!"

"Wait, I'll be there in a nano," a female voice called. A few nanoseconds later, a young-looking sprite came from one of the rooms. Her skin was a deep mahogany color, and her pale blond hair was in a braid over one shoulder.

"Hello," she greeted Enzo and AndrAIa, smiling. "I'm Taaj's aunt."

The sprites introduced themselves, and Taaj told Jiselle their problem.

"Sure, your friends can stay," she said. "We've got an extra room." They followed her into the room, and Jiselle began setting up.

"Here," she said when she had finished. The sofa had been set up into a bed for them, and there was another small bed for Frisket.

Enzo and AndrAIa thanked Jiselle. "But we might have to stay for a while," Enzo warned. "We're far from home; and we probably won't ever get back to my sister and the others."

Taaj smiled sympathetically. "I know how that feels," he said. "It's just Jiselle and me here, ever since my parents were deleted."

Jiselle patted his shoulder. "Well," she announced after a moment of silence, "you kids look famished. Come with me and I'll make you all lunch." They obeyed, following her into the small kitchen.

As she began cooking, Jiselle told Enzo and AndrAIa, "You'll like it here. It's probably not the same as home, but — "

"It's one of the best," Taaj put in.

Enzo nodded, but he couldn't get anything out. His emotions were in a jumble. Part of him was trilling with joy at the fact that he was finally in the Supercomputer; but he missed home, and he knew that the next few hours would make it harder.

"Yeah," he finally said softly. AndrAIa sensed his discomfort and squeezed his hand reassuringly. Frisket gave a bark of comfort.


	5. Daemon's Infection

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CHAPTER FOUR

DAEMON'S INFECTION

SUPERCOMPUTER — 8 minutes later

Doors were flung open, and a massive crowd of sprites filed into the Guardian Academy's cafeteria. They got their chips and energy shakes and sat down at their tables.

Among the Guardians-in-training were three sprites and a dog, which took seats at a table not far from the others but far enough away that they could talk freely amongst themselves.

Enzo, now 1.8, was eating rapidly, pausing only to talk to his friends. He was taller than average, having gone through an early growth spurt, and he was beginning to fill out with muscles. He had outgrown his red hat, and he had let his hair grow more tousled than ever, with a lock hanging over his right eye.

Enzo's girlfriend AndrAIa sat on his lap. Over the hours they had spent in the Supercomputer she had grown beautiful and mature, and was still getting prettier every second. Her aqua hair had grown to shoulder-length, and she still wore her starfish on the left side. She wore a low-cut top and pants of the same scaly material and silvery boots. Silver armbands wound their way up her orange-toned arms, lack of her small crossbow. She and Enzo were listening to a joke Taaj was telling.

"So then I told him . . ." The sprite paused, building up the tension, "that's not a floppy disk, that's my dog!"

The other two bursts into laughter, while Frisket, sitting at their feet, lifted his head and gave a few yaps.

"It's okay, boy," Enzo told him.

"Wait'll you hear the one about the game sprite," Taaj went on.

AndrAIa raised an eyebrow as she flicked out a paralyzing nail and asked, "Oh, really?"

"You know AndrAIa doesn't like those jokes," Enzo warned his friend.

"Just kidding, `DrAIa," Taaj laughed, unfazed by his friend's attitudes. "You know I don't tell jokes to offend you guys."

AndrAIa smiled and nodded. "I know you don't." She turned to Enzo and added, "And _you_ don't need to defend me all the time, Sparky." Her tone was serious, but amusement sparkled in her marine eyes.

"Would you stop it with the Sparky' thing?" Enzo groaned. After a nano he added, "Angelfish."

Taaj laughed at the two's pet names for one another. "Ah, young love."

"Jealous?" Enzo smirked, giving AndrAIa a peck on the cheek.

"Not a chance," Taaj replied. "I'm not into the lovey-dovey mush." His friends knew to take him seriously. With his mussed brown hair, darker turquoise skin, and sparkling gray eyes, he was the definition of mischief. But, nearing his 2.0 birthday, the Academy teachers urged him to take his training more seriously. And he did, making top grades in most of his classes. But he still found time in-between studying to tell a couple of jokes or play a few pranks. In a way, he reminded Enzo of a younger format of Bob: easygoing and cool — but also eager to be a Guardian, like himself.

Taaj opened his mouth to speak when a large VidWindow suddenly popped up. Everyone immediately grew quiet and stared at the window curiously. The only times the entire Academy was VidWindowed were when Turbo was making an announcement, or when one of the teachers was reprimanding a student for misbehavior.

On the VidWindow, surprisingly, wasn't Turbo or any of the teachers. Instead it was a figure, her body cloaked in shadow. She stepped forward; when she was in clear view, everyone gasped, because there stood a woman who looked like a sprite, save the Web creature coils spreading from her back like a cape. Her once-baby-blue skin had darkened to a horrible grayish color, and the streaks of chrome, once beautiful, looked like dirty, disfiguring gashes. Her dark hair was wild, framing her hard face, smoldering eyes, and the green veins pulsing at her temples. But the most drastic change in her appearance was the tendrils that grew from her skin that tore through her Guardian uniform, and rested on her shoulders and arms.

"Chroma!" Enzo hissed.

The former second-in-command at the Guardian Academy took no notice. She announced, "I am Daemon, your new ruler."

"No way, lady!" an older sprite shouted. Others added yells of defiance, Enzo, AndrAIa, and Taaj included.

Chroma — now Daemon — scoffed. "You Guardians, with your arrogance. Never challenge a super-virus, especially one such as I." She waved a hand with a coil wrapped around it like a bracelet.

A few confused nanoseconds passed. Suddenly, the doors exploded open and ultra drones, or u-drones, charged in, well-equipped, with mines and curved throwing blades.

The sprites were frozen in surprise, until someone shouted, "Run!" Then all hell broke loose.

Sprites jumped up and shoved each other aside to reach the doors, but they were pushed in turn by the charging u-drones. Some sprites fell, and were attacked as they tried to stand up.

Enzo grabbed AndrAIa's hand, and they started to run, as Enzo yelled, "Frisket!" The dog understood immediately, and let the two sprites climb on. He grunted under the weight; but he began rushing toward the exits with the other sprites that were trying to escape. Taaj was nowhere to be seen.

The u-drones stopped chasing and began launching mines. The mines settled on the ground, ready to blow up on contact when touched.

A large mine landed right in front of the sprites and dog.

"Look out!" AndrAIa screamed. 

Frisket tried to stop, but they were going too fast, and they hit the mine. There was a tremendous explosion, and the shock wave sent them flying.

Enzo and AndrAIa scrambled up quickly, but Frisket was sprawled on the ground, out cold. Enzo started for him, but AndrAIa held him back. "Leave him," she said. "We have to get out of here." Reluctantly Enzo nodded, and they ran as mines exploded around them.

Enzo suddenly tripped and fell. AndrAIa started to help him up, but suddenly a u-drone lumbered up and shoved her aside. She could only watch helplessly as the u-drone slowly took out a long, sharp blade and held it above its head. Time seemed to stop as the u-drone reared up and suddenly struck — 

And a nano later, Enzo screamed, clutching his empty eye socket that was streaming energy. He fell facedown on the ground, unconscious.

Satisfied, the u-drone turned to AndrAIa. The game sprite had watched the murderous act with disbelief; but she snapped out of it, and pulled out her trident and brandished it at the u-drone.

They sparred, AndrAIa with her trident, the u-drone with one of its deadly blades. The fight lasted for many milliseconds; but soon AndrAIa felt herself growing tired. The u-drone, however, was still fighting strong. AndrAIa knew that if she made so much as one mistake, she would be sliced to ribbons.

For a moment she froze, torn between staying with Enzo and getting help. But she knew what she had to do. "I love you, Enzo," she whispered, then turned and ran.

The u-drone saw her retreating figure and threw one of its blades. AndrAIa ducked, but the blade chopped off a small portion of her hair and nicked her ear, drawing energy. AndrAIa kept running.

She finally made it out of the Academy. Not many sprites beside her had. AndrAIa stopped to take a breath. But she was forced to keep running; because u-drones had begun streaming out of the Academy, searching for those who had escaped. AndrAIa sprinted down the streets. She had to find a place to hide for the time being. AndrAIa ran down an alleyway and collapsed against the hard wall. All she wanted to do was rest.

Looking up, the game sprite saw waves of yellowish-green color emanate from the wrecked Guardian Academy. The tendrils spread across the sky, until they formed a large, dark cloud that choked out all light. It seemed a sign of hopelessness.

The sign of Daemon's infection.


End file.
